Editorial: Biden’s inauguration brings hope for truth, unity. Opinion,
Finally, after months of uncertainty, America can exhale.
Joe Biden has been inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States.
The national nightmare that began on Jan. 20, 2017, finally came to an end when Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office to Biden shortly before noon.
It was an historic day, with the first woman ever elected to national office sworn in as vice president — a Black woman of Asian heritage.
After Wednesday, Black and brown girls and women can see not just possibility but reality.
Americans were transfixed by Wednesday’s ceremony partly because of that and the challenges facing America, but also because, for the first time in generations, there was a reasonable question about whether democracy would make it to the finish line.
Just two weeks earlier, a mob — incited by Biden’s predecessor and his GOP allies — descended on the U.S. Capitol in an effort to overturn the election, ending the centuries-old American tradition of a peaceful transfer of power.
On Wednesday, thanks to the previous president, Washington was an armed camp, with some 25,000 troops guarding the Capitol against further attack.
A tense America watched as the oath was administered, thinking about the past few years, months and weeks, and wondering what could happen next. Nothing happened.
Biden became president by concluding the oath with “so help me God” and then delivering a stirring, distinctly American speech of hope and unity:
“This is democracy’s day. A day of history and hope of renewal and resolve through a crucible for the ages. America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge.
“Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy. The people, the will of the people, has been heard and the will of the people has been heeded.
“We’ve learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”
Yes, it has. And it was a close call. Biden’s
opponent refused to concede, attend the inauguration or even speak Biden’s name. The now former president will be remembered as the sorest loser our nation has ever seen.
Biden now has to undo the damage his predecessor has done to our national psyche, to our institutions, to normal behavior and — maybe most important — to the truth.
Biden said “truth” five times in his speech.
He likely understands what a perilous time it is for truth, especially when polls show a healthy majority of Republicans believe Biden’s opponent won the election despite no evidence that’s really the case.
We can’t say for sure what kind of job Biden will do.
We do know he’s a serious, experienced man whose Cabinet selections are serious, experienced experts who reflect the diversity of this nation.
We also know he’s deadly serious about the deadly pandemic that’s claimed 400,000 lives, that the former president treated as a political annoyance.
Finally, we know Biden has the capacity of feeling empathy for other people, and that’s a refreshing change from the last four years.
Biden will make mistakes. We expect that from a president. What we don’t expect is for a president to pose a direct threat to our very system of government.
The poet Amanda Gorman spoke to the perilous time we’re in, but echoed the theme of hope in reciting a poem at Wednesday’s inauguration that included this passage:
“We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour, but within it, we found the power to author a new chapter, to offer hope and laughter to ourselves so while once we asked, how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe? Now we assert, how could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?” Editorials are the opinion of the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board and are written by one of its members or a designee. The editorial board consists of Opinion Editor Mike Lafferty, Jennifer A. Marcial Ocasio, Jay Reddick, David Whitley and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Send emails to insight@orlandosentinel.com.